Before I Know What You Did Last Summer, 54 and Cruel Intentions, Ryan Phillippe began his career on the legenary US soap, One Life To Live. In 1992 and 1993 he appeared in several episodes of the show as illy Douglas, who just happened to be the first gay teen on US daytime TV.
Now Phillippe has been looking back on that early role while promoting his new movie, Wish Upon. He told Too Fab, “There had never been a gay teenager portrayed on television at that point. It was before Will & Grace, before Ellen came out, it’s before any of that stuff. I remember the fan mail that my mother and I would get from gay teenagers or from parents of gay teenagers who found a way in to relate to or talk to their child through this show.”
Even though he was only 17 at the time, he remembers, “understanding and appreciating that back then even when I was only a teenager myself.”
It’s a role he looks back on fondly, saying, “I’m proud to have done it, I’m proud that that’s something I can say was a part of my career.”
You can take a look at Ryan’s comments below, as well as the scenes from One Life To Live where Billy came out.
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